In what year was the team established? And when was the first year to participate BWSC?

Our team was established in 1989. Our first year competing in the World Solar Challenge was 1990.

Review BWSC 2023 - How do you feel when looking back on this year's race?

Overall, I feel proud of how the team performed especially during our five days of race, but I acknowledge that we made mistakes leading up to the race and left some performance on the table as a result. Because we couldn't complete our hot lap for grid position due to an electrical fault with the car, we started 31st behind all the teams who posted a time. I'm incredibly proud that we worked our way back to 4th place, but we know we could have given the three teams that finished in front of us a good challenge for the podium had we started with a better grid position. Regardless, the first day when we overtook 25 teams was nothing but exhilarating and we'll take the lessons we learned from this year's race into our preparation for 2025.

How important are tyres for a solar car? And what do you think about BS ENLITEN® tyre?
Is there any tyre performance you would expect for 2025?

I like to say that solar car racing is a game of milliwatts—although the race is 5 days, the difference between teams can be as little as 4 minutes. 4 minutes represents a difference of roughly .1% in vehicle efficiency. After aerodynamics, tires are the second greatest source of power loss in solar cars, representing roughly 20%. At Michigan, we're extremely excited about the Bridgestone ENLITEN® because it is incredibly lightweight, has ultra-low rolling resistance, and has low power loss in tire slip. We've charted the improves in tire performance over the past decade—and they have been significant—so we're very excited to see what 2025 has in store for our tires.

Resolution for BWSC 2025 - Please share your target goal for next year's race. How do you plan to improve this year's machine?

With the release of the new 2025 regulations, we will go back to the drawing board and start from scratch. We will improve the system from the ground up, motivated by the fact that our competition has worked extremely diligently to build some of the most graceful machines I've ever seen. As always, our target is to build the fastest car in the history of the Stuart Highway. Our competition amazes me every time, so I cannot promise we will do it. But I can promise that in 2025, we will come together as a team to work our hardest and do our best. And just like we did in 2023, we'll be sure to savor each and every precious moment of BWSC.

Message to the future teammates aspiring to compete BWSC 2025

I would tell anyone aspiring to compete in BWSC 2025 to do it. It is the greatest opportunity I've personally known; as much as BWSC taught me about engineering and science, it taught me much more about myself and how to be a teammate. The folks you meet at BWSC, from your competitors to fans to the Bridgestone officials, will inspire you in ways you can't expect.